The days of Alfred Hithcock and Grace Kelly seem like yesteryear, right? Well Tippi Hedren begs to disagree. The star of both The Birds and Marnie visited grounds for the Virginia Film Festival. While she gave a question and answer session after a showing of The Birds at The Paramount, she also visited my class of 30 to speak about her experiences, and how Hitchcock may have “ruined my career, but not my life”.
           As many of you may know from the film The Girl starring Sienna Miller, Tippi was a model in New York for many years when she was discovered by Hitchcock through a TV commercial she was in. Long story short, Hitchcock sexually harassed her and she left. This was during a time when women had no resources, and sexual harassment was not a prevalent issue. Especially during the golden age of the studio system, the director had all control, and actresses such as Tippi were at their every whim. Despite a history of women giving into Hitchcock’s ridiculous demands and advances, Tippi mustered up the strength to tell him that she was done, and she left him and her contract. While it practically ended her career in Hollywood, Ms. Hedren turned to other ventures and has used her celebrity to help people and animals alike.
           Tippi said that when a door opened for her, she went through it if she had any sort of interest. She said that this was true of her time with Hitchcock, as well as her endeavors post-Hollywood. Ms. Hedren was part of an effort to help Vietnamese refugees during the Vietnam War learn English, get jobs and have a normal and productive life in the US. She actually is one of the women who was influential in integrating Vietnamese women in the nail salon industry, an industry that is now worth over $6.7 billion dollars. Ms. Hedren’s current cause is that of the wild cats. She has a reserve outside of Los Angeles that takes in tigers, lions, panthers and other related large wild cats that have been raised for pets in the US and have been abandoned, tortured or were going to be put down. She currently is in the process of presenting her second bill on the issue to congress. Her first passed in 2006 and helped stop trafficking of the animals over state lines. This one will push the issue even further and help to stop the birth of these wild animals in suburban areas.
           The best piece of advice that I took away from Tippi? “Bitchy is always more fun”. She said that when Hitchcock asked her to act “bitchy” in a scene, she was always more than happy to oblige. I think her ability to play bitchy so well comes from her incredibly innate strength. Ms. Hedren is an amazing roll model. She is a woman who took control of her body when women weren’t allowed to be in control of their bodies. And even after being blacklisted from Hollywood, she took her talents and her influence and made an amazing life for herself—one which fulfills her and also helps others. The strength that Tippi had and has is an inspiration to women today everywhere, and I think that we can all learn from her incredible story.
Â